BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez combined to beat Tomas Machac and Jakub Mensik in the deciding doubles to help Spain rally past Czech Republic and reach the semifinals of the Davis Cup with a 2-1 win on Thursday.
Granollers and Martinez lifted in the absence of top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, the six-time Grand Slam champion who withdrew from Spain's team because of a hamstring injury.
Spain, which hadn't reached the semifinals since it won the last of its six Davis Cup titles in 2019, will next face No. 2-seeded Germany, which defeated Argentina 2-1.
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz outlasted Andres Molteni and Horacio Zeballos in a third-set tiebreaker in the deciding doubles match to give Germany the quarterfinal victory.
Argentina was trying to win its 100th Davis Cup tie.
Granollers and Martínez clinched the quarterfinal by winning the doubles 7-6 (8), 7-6 (8) at SuperTennis Arena.
The 20-year-old Mensik hit 20 aces en route to beating veteran Pablo Carreño Busta 7-5, 6-4 to give the Czech team the lead. Jaume Munar subsequently won his first Davis Cup singles for Spain by defeating No. 17 Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4.
“I was pretty confident in my tennis,” Munar said. “It doesn’t matter who I have in front of me. I had great confidence in myself and that’s the main thing.”
The fourth-seeded Czechs were trying to return to the semifinals for the first time since 2014.
Tomas Martin Etcheverry put Argentina ahead after hitting 23 aces to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), but No. 3-ranked Alexander Zverev leveled it for Germany by defeating No. 21 Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-6 (3).
In the doubles, Krawietz and Puetz rallied to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10), with both teams squandering match points.
Argentina was aiming to reach the semifinals for the first time since it won the competition in 2016. Germany was a semifinalist last year.
Top-ranked Italy, seeking a third straight title and fourth overall, faces Belgium in the other semifinal. The Italians are without world No. 2 Jannik Sinner, who is resting.
The Davis Cup Finals in Bologna is the sixth edition of the revamped event that crowns a champion at a neutral site.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
WHAT A holiday market showcasing Bay Area small businesses and featuring unique, handcrafted… Read more2025 Holiday Night Market by Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center at the Chan Zuckerberg Community Space
The San Mateo Union High School (SMUHSD) Sustainabilty Committee presents a community event:… Read moreWater is Life
The San Mateo County Blue Star Moms, a local military moms support group is holding a karaok… Read moreHelp Support our Troops
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.